Beauties on wheels
A vintage auto exhibition set in a royal background piqued the interests of many a car owner in the city.
For the first time in history, Hyderabad played host to Travel Cartier with Style 2017 Concourse d’Elégance, one of the world’s most prestigious events that exhibits some of India’s rarest of vintage automobiles, over the weekend. The grand, two-day event that concluded on Sunday at the Taj Falaknuma palace, displayed around 70 cars and 42 motorcycles that dated back to the pre-World War I era, and was attended by up to 700 enthusiasts, restorers and collectors from around the world. At the event, hosted by Guillaume Alix, Regional Managing Director, Cartier Middle East, India and Africa, the sprawling grounds of the palace bore many classics, from Sunbeams to Nortons and Rolls Royces to Daimlers. Among the visitors were the bigwigs of the city and the rest of the world, including cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, Prince Michael of Kent, who was also one of the judging panellists, and Nawab Shah Alam Khan’s family, whose 1949 Buick Roadmaster won the runner up in the Post War Classic American category.
Manavendra Singh Barwani, who started India’s first vintage and classic car restoration workshop back in 1978, was the curator of the event. Having curated earlier editions in Delhi and Mumbai, Manavendra decided on Hyderabad as the ideal venue for this event, and was very happy that all the hard work paid off. “The basic structure of a concours must have a society, a car culture and a historical significance. In Hyderabad, you have all three! And I think the Falaknuma Palace is one of the finest venues in the world for such a show. Many come up to me and say ‘oh, such wonderful cars’, but I tell them it isn’t just the car. It is the wonderful setting that has highlighted the cars,” he says and the humility in his words is unmistakable.
One of the judges, John Walsh, a lifestyle journalist who has written extensively about cars, also agrees with Manavendra about the grandeur of the concourse. “I was judging the concourse in New Delhi two years ago and it wasn’t as coherent as this one. Here, you can stand at the balcony and all the cars in their respective classifications are in front of you to see,” he says.
An event like this also encourages the restorers and the mechanics of the automobiles. One such restorer from Mumbai, shares a very interesting story. “I am a Zoroastrian priest by day and a restorer by evening. Once I finish offering prayers, I get into my garage and follow my passion,” he says, standing next to the piercing blue Series 62 Cardillac of 1950, that he has restored.
The show was judged by the top guns of the automobile collectables industry, such as Simon Kidston, an expert in heritage automobiles, famous for being a judge at Pebble Beach, Lord March, heir-apparent of the Duke of Richmond of the Goodwood Festival of Speed fame, and other esteemed personalities.
The one car that stole everyone’s hearts was a 1914 Wolsley 30/40 HP, and it’s proud owner, Shrivardkhan Kanoria, took home the ‘Best of Show’ award as it had excelled in every aspect. The best motorcycle of the show was Arjun Oberoi’s 1947 Indian Chief. Travel Cartier, that has been affiliated with FIVA’s World Heritage Year Programme with the patronage of UNESCO, presented the FIVA preservation award to Yuraj Kesari Singh’s Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, for having the best-preserved car at the Concours. Another classic that sought much praise from the public was a 1949 Bristol 400 that won the Cartier Resurrection Cup, as it truly seemed to have been brought alive from the dead. Amit Sapre, the owner of the car, took it upon himself to restore the car that was in tatters, and achieved the task, all in just a year.